Morelia, Michoacán-based Biofase is manufacturing biodegradable cutlery and straws made out avocado seeds.
The bioplastic products manufactured using his process biodegrade after 240 days of being exposed to the elements or buried in the ground.
Scott Mungía was a chemical engineering student at the time and, being motivated to solve pollution problems, was looking for a reliable source for biodegradable plastic.
After a trial-and-error process that tested the properties of raw materials such as mango and mamey sapote seeds, he happened to be reading a paper that included a picture of the corn molecule used to make bioplastic.
"I already knew what the avocado seed molecule looked like." says Munguia.
The idea was born.
He went through two years of development, and now, with a team of 14 employees is poised to open a plant with a capacity of 700 tons a month in November.
Mexico produces 300,000 pounds of avocados, or about 50% of the world's supply.
The global market for bioplastic is $5.8 billion, according to Bioplastics News.
It took him a year and a half of research to find an effective method to extract a molecular compound from the avocado pit and obtain a biopolymer, which could then be molded into any desirable shape. Munguía’s avocado-based bioplastic was born.
The bioplastic products manufactured using his process biodegrade after 240 days of being exposed to the elements or buried in the ground, while their fossil fuel-based counterparts can take more than 100 years.
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